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StanC

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Posts posted by StanC

    Talcum

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Hello All,

    I had often seen guitar players using talcum on their hands and fretboard to eliminate stickiness particularly in hot/humid outdoor venues. I've been reluctant to try that (hands only!) fearing that the powder could still get to the innards of the keyboard(s) and cause problems or damage in some way. Anyone have any experience with this to confirm or dispel my fears?

     

    Thanks for any advice on this!

    When the rain comes... weather and gigging

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    It was a church festival. We were set up on a rather deep stage where only the back half was under cover. Being a nice day and no known threat of rain, we set up mostly in the uncovered section. But then here comes a down pour. As I am frantically disassembling and moving my rig under cover, a friend of the BL invited about 40 people under the cover in order to organize a fund raiser. Needless to say, most of my gear got soaked. My roadie (a.k.a.my wife) and I hovered over the boards to keep them dry. Luckily there was no permanent damage. But another reminder of how oblivious and inconsiderate some can be.

    Incredibly boring songs to play

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Werewolves of London. I win.

     

    A mash up of 'Sweet Home Alabama', 'All Summer Long' and 'Werewolves Of London' can be kind of fun.

     

    We obviously have widely varying ideas about what "fun" is....I've done several gigs where it was thought of as a cool idea to play "Where the Werewolves Hang Out in Sweet Home Alabama All Summer Long" and after about 30 minutes of D-C-G I'm ready to whack my forehead with a ball peen hammer.....

     

    My previous band did the Sweet Home Alabama and Werewolves mash up, Agreed! THAT's boring!

     

    And one more to add to the list:

     

    Mustang Sally.

    Are you performing with a face mask?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Did someone say masked sax player?

     

    MAS-1800-2T.jpg

    With so much info and dis-info out there it's hard to tell what's valid anymore. Nevertheless I heard a report documenting that playing horns (especially saxes with multiple tone holes) will disperse far more droplets, and even further from the source than that from an unmasked person talking or singing. So, if anything, the Sax needs a mask!.

    XK1 to SK1?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Overdrive has a mess of variable settings on page 92. #1 Overdrive-Drive sets a master range of o.d. available to the o.d. knob. You can also set how the the expression pedal interacts with the o.d. .

     

    Eureka That;'s it! :thu: Thank you, Thank you! Guess I never made it to page 92! Too anxious to just play! (that's my story and I'm sticking with it.) The problem was the expression pedal was set to control the O.D. That is kind bizarre. Why would the default factory setting be for the expression pedal to control anything but expression? :confused:

    XK1 to SK1?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    . . . tons of documentation on the Hammond website, also some video tutorials. Make sure to check them out, and take some time with the board to test various functions. ...

     

    I looked for a forum and did go to a Hammond website. But did not find anything useful. I registered with the forum but could not find a way to log on. Contacted moderator - awaiting reply. The Hammond website I was on must have been the wrong place. Can you please send a link to the one you mention?

     

    Thx!

    XK1 to SK1?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    OK first impressions!

    Help from SK1 owners? The default B3 called The Rock, setting for the leslie is with the Stop LED lit. When the fast mode is turned off, there is no slow mode. Yes Stop can be turned off every time there is a power recycle or patch change (PITA). So I thought I have to create my own sound by tweaking the default. The manual (may as well be in Chinese) has a section about how to create your own sounds but falls short of the finish line and saving the work. Also quite disappointing is the Overdrive. When activated and amount knob at max, does not change the sound at all. I don't generally use a lot of distortion. On the XK1, I would run it with the knob maybe at 9 o'clock. At 12 or more, was way too much.

     

    Any hints and suggestions are appreciated!

    XK1 to SK1?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Wow! Despite the estimated delivery of Monday 4/12, the tracking number says out for delivery as I type. Ordered yesterday at around 10, delivery today! Armens in NY was the vendor. I'm in CT so that was just a short hop!

    XK1 to SK1?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Well, I decided to do my duty as an American citizen and help to recharge the economy by spending my stimulus check! SK1 on the way! But it wasn't easy. Sweetwater, out of stock more in a FEW WEEKS. SameDayMusic - 25 minutes on the phone, no one answered - Good bye. Musicians friend, back ordered. So I went back to a deal I saw on ebay that I was hoping to negotiate with one of the above. It included a gig bag and the EXP-20 for the same price.

    XK1 to SK1?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Thanks for all the insight! I had considered other models, but I guess I am like the die hard Ford or Chevy drivers that won't have anything else. I'm a Hammond guy (irrationally perhaps). Weight being another factor in the decision process, I had not considered the XK-1c, because I erroneously assumed the weight was similar to the XK1 (~25#s). It's actually only about 16# much like the SK1. So now it's down to just a couple things. First the extra voices. I don't necessarily need them, but it might be nice to have the option of extra pianos while playing strings, brass, etc. from my main board, the Yamaha. Of course I could do splits, but after losing my set up just pre-gig one time long ago, I'm not a big fan of extensive programming. I'm pretty much an out-of-the-box guy. Second, to Delaware Dave's comment, "horrible in the upper end", Mitch writes XK and SK has same as VASE III technology. I never thought the XK1 sounded horrible. With the same technology, the two should sound the same. I wonder maybe there WAS something wrong with the unit Dave was using or maybe EQ/amplification? Or perhaps just a matter of personal taste. Can anyone else comment further on the SK sound?

     

    Thanks again!

    Anyone Recording with Audacity?

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Some old friends from a high school band recently contacted me to do some recording. Since we are scattered over the country this will be virtual using Audacity software. Bass player and drummer have been able to connect to their computers but I have not been successful. First attempt was with a 1/4" to USB cord from the line out of my Yamaha S90 XS to my Dell inspiron laptop. Although the LED on the cord flashes when I play, and I see a signal when I test microphone on the Windows 10 Settings--> Sound, page, I do not hear any sound through the laptop speakers or external amp and speakers via the lap's headphone jack. And there is no presence in Audacity. Audacity shows it is recording when I hit the record icon, but obviously it is not getting the input. I also tried 1/4" to 1/8 stereo" from S90 to lap headphone with same result. Those two methods for connection come right out of the Audacity users manual. I have messed with the windows and Audacity settings but to no avail.

    The guys have been successful in recording, editing, overdubbing, and marrying tracks so we need to all be on the same platform. Cant figure out what I am missing or doing wrong!

     

    Anyone have any experience with Audacity or recording in general that may shed some light on this?

     

    BTW this is not a "Duh" moment. Speakers are not muted on the laptop :rolleyes:

    OT: a bit a humor, chime in with others!

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    A young boy had just attended his first lesson to learn the tuba. His dad asked, "What did you learn?" The boy replied "I learned how to play a C." The next week his dad asked again, "What did you learn this week?" "I learned \how to play a G." the boy replied. On the third week the young musician did not return until 2 A.M. The frantic father then asked, "My God! It's 2 A.M.!! Where have you been?" The boy calmly replied, "I had a gig!"
    • Haha 1

    OT: Leslie West gone at 75

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I should be used to the idea that we're going to lose people at a regular rate--simply due to age, if nothing else. Add cancer, etc. and...dammit, I'm NOT used to it. These guys we're losing were supposed to live forever, you know?

     

    Grey

    Thankfully, their music will live forever!

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